


The Ballad of Parvati

by vangeaux



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Backstory, Canon Compliant, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-05-18 00:25:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14842058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vangeaux/pseuds/vangeaux
Summary: Stuck between her old life and her new, Parvati struggled everyday with what it meant to be a vampire. Some people just weren't meant to become such creatures.Some people were just better off dead.





	1. Chapter 1

Parvati Bahl was a spectacular child. Anyone who crossed her path fell in love instantly at the sight of the endearing girl. At such a young age, she was already charismatic enough for the people, confidant enough for the stage, and talented enough to perform. 

The music was as much a part of her as the blood that coursed through her veins. She was only whole, only Parvati Bahl, when she belted out a song under the spotlight. The awed audience fueled her waking moments better than any amount of sleep could. 

Parvati Bahl was going places, everyone could see it. As she grew, so did her audience. She was a musical prodigy, headed for broadway, headed for the Paris Opera, wherever she wanted. The entire world was held in the palm of her hand. 

Until the day she died.

It was such an incredibly stupid, human accident. It had been so dark and the road was slick and everything just happened so fast. One second she had been cruising behind the wheel of a brand new 1950 Pontiac, the next she was crashing. She wouldn't be able to remember anything that happened after. 

It wasn't long after when Carlisle found her. Though the scent of her blood was strong, it wasn't what pulled him to the wreckage. It was the bright flames that leapt from the crushed metal. A second vehicle lay not too far from the first, yet Carlisle only detected the sound of one faint heart still beating.

It was the sound that lead him to her. Once he had pulled her out onto the damp grass, he noticed the blisters forming from where the melting metal dripped onto her skin. Six ribs were cracked, all in two places. Her right scapula was possibly also injured. 

She woke up for the last time that night, struggling to breathe through a pierced lung. 

"You were in an accident," was the first thing Carlisle told her, cool hand holding hers. It should've been obvious, but in that moment, she was grateful for his bluntness, his cool reserve. Fear would have been the death of her, before the loss of blood. But with him there, his kind face looking down at her, she felt a strength she didn't know she could have. 

But it wasn't enough to keep her grounded. Already, she was fading out again, slowly letting the dark consume her. It was death. A part of her knew it, knew that her biggest fear had come to pass. 

"I have a son about your age," he told her gently, hoping to distract her from the intimidating thoughts of what came after death. Let her have any sense of normalcy, he thought. Don't let her dwell on fear of the unknown. 

"How nice," she whispered. She broke off into a strenuous fit of coughing, blood splattering her lips. There was a grunt of of pain before she mustered a smile. "Is he as handsome as you?"

"You'll have to meet him and decide for yourself," he told her, knowing that the day would never come. More tears came as she thought about the life she had lost, everything she had gone in one night. 

"Do you promise I'll meet him?" It was a pathetic question as she already knew the answer. But she just needed to hear his firm assurance. She needed to pretend for just a second longer that she wasn't a snuffed out flame. 

"You have my word," he murmured, laying a hand on her heated forehead. Finally, she could let go. After a few more stray tears, she let her eyes slip closed and prayed for peace.

It wasn't something he had planned. All he had hoped to do was give her some sense of comfort as she passed. There was no time to get her the help she needed. Carlisle couldn't save her life. 

But he could give her a new one. 

Before the light could completely leave her eyes, he pulled her into his arms, tilting her head back and exposing her neck. "You have my word," he repeated, before sinking teeth into soft, human skin.


	2. Chapter 2

Emmett and Rosalie didn't have much of a warning when they came home to a newborn vampire. It had been a marvelous weekend, full of mountain lions and bears and each other. Twenty years together had gone by in a blur, the both of them barely noticing the passing of time. The honeymoon phase still hadn't worn thin, much to the chagrin of the rest of the household. 

Though, they weren't much to complain. Alice and Jasper were as much enraptured with each other as anyone else. Carlisle, of course, remained devoted as ever with the matriarch of the clan, Esme. All of them had found their other half, their mate. All of them except one.

Edward, the sole Cullen who spent his eternity alone. He was content, and so his family respected his solitude. They all had each other, they were never truly alone. And, yet, Esme found herself yearning for a change in Edward. If only he could find the one, if only he could experience the same happiness as the rest of them. 

For the most part, she was able to keep her thoughts safe around him. But sometimes, they would slip through, when she wasn't careful. When she would watch her children giggle and kiss, and then watch Edward's small smile. He knew what he was missing out on, but he remained alone. 

It didn't always come easy. Perhaps it was luck that brought Rosalie to Emmet. Or perhaps Edward chose his path. 

Whatever it was, Esme's bursting happiness was undeniable when Carlisle brought home the newest member of their family. She was perfect, thought Esme. Absolutely perfect for Edward. If he was as smart as Esme believed, he would see it for himself.

But much to her surprise, it took no persuasion from her to spark the flame. Edward had eyes for no one but Parvati once she walked through the door. It was as if the two were frozen in place, yet trapped in each other's orbit. 

He was quiet, careful not to overwhelm the newborn. Staying at a distance, he was attentive as he observed her, reading everything he could in her movements. She was still too jerky, unused to her power and speed. Grace and fluidity would come soon. His lips quirked at the thought; that would be a sight to see. 

She caught the sudden movement, the slightest hint of mirth on his face. Her curiosity ate at her. What did he think of? Specifically, what did he think of her? Parvati didn't have the same advantage as he, the privilege to be able to detect his thoughts. Though, she quickly came to learn of her own ability. It was something much, much more disastrous. 

They could never touch. The thought was alarming, heartbreaking. The sense of loneliness would have suffocated her if she wasn't immortal. Not only would humans now be attracted to her because of her unnatural beauty, but they (along with vampires) would fall under her spell at the slightest touch of skin. 

With a touch, they would momentarily lose all sense, only come to know her. All because of a single touch. 

The bitterness rolled off of her in waves, alarming Jasper at the intensity of the feeling. Sharing a glance with his brother, Jasper gradually calmed her emotions, giving her any sense of peace that he could. The vampires stayed on guard, wary around the burgundy eyed girl. It would only take a wild emotion to set her off, to get her out of control. But Edward had faith in her, already. She was strong. She would be marvelous. 

When Emmet and Rosalie arrived at last, the new girl was sitting on the couch, flanked by Edward and Esme, with Jasper and Carlisle also in close proximity. When Parvati moved at an alarming rate to stand up, her new family moved as well. Rosalie's hisses sounded throughout the room, but quickly ceased at Parvati's expression.

She never intended to harm anybody. The only thing she craved, besides the sweetness of blood, was for her new family to like her.

Emmet smiled broadly at the tiny girl. "Welcome to the family, sister!" he crowed, arms open wide for a hug. 

Before he could move closer, Edward was by his side, a warning hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch her," he breathed. The seriousness in which he spoke took Emmet by surprise. 

"Already territorial, I see," he said, cocking an eyebrow. With a firm shake of Edward's head, he finally lowered his arms in defeat, and took a step back.

"He's not," Parvati quickly spoke up. Her voice, which was already sweet even before she turned, was now enough to make a mass of humans sigh. Edward immediately turned back to look at her, his steady gaze distracting her, making her stumble over her words. "You really can't touch me. It's... this power I have."

Carlisle placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, both of them sharing a sad smile. "Anyone who makes skin on skin contact with her succumbs to instant... attraction," he explained hesitantly. "It can be, ah, overwhelming."

"I didn't take you for the egotistical type," Emmet admitted with a chuckle. The girl looked so small, nervous, as if she wanted to hide behind her mother's skirts. The power she brought with her into her new life looked certainly contradictory. 

"She's a born entertainer," Edward said proudly. When her eyes turned accusing, he shook his head. "Sorry." He always tried his best to not invade other's private thoughts, but he was too curious this time. He needed to know everything about her, everything about who she was and will be. 

"I make my living pleasing people," she softly agreed. "I'm an opera singer."

"You were," Rosalie corrected. For the first time, Parvati locked eyes with her, watching as Rose stepped up besides her mate, locking hands with him. Parvati observed the site, jealousy coursing through her dead veins before Jasper quickly eased the hurt. 

"I'm sorry?" She asked, tearing her eyes away from the marble-like clasped hands. 

"You were an opera singer," the soft spoken blonde repeated. The gentle tone of her voice didn't stop the hurt that pierced Parvati's frozen heart. She might have died, but they couldn't kill that part of her. It was all she knew, all she could remember of her human life. 

She remained silent, the gears in her mind began spinning in a frenzy as she thought through all the possible responses she could give. Even with all the newfound power she had, she still couldn't think fast enough in that moment. It was so rare to the others, to see such speechlessness in a vampire. 

"It wouldn't be wise," Alice interjected softly, seeming to appear out of thin air. She floated across the room to comfort her new sister. For just a moment she reached out to touch her, before swiftly pulling her hand back to her side. A human wouldn't have even noticed. "It would be too dangerous for you to continue such a career, drawing so much attention to yourself," she continued. She gave an apologetic smile, but Parvati gave none in return. It wasn't fair what they were saying. She didn't even know the people and they were already taking everything away from her. 

Edward dipped his head in shame, and took a step back. 

"Not to mention," Jasper said, always ready to support Alice, "you'd be on a stage in front of hundreds of humans. Not quite the best place for a mess up."

"But that's who I am," Parvati argued. She surprised herself with the strength in her voice. It sounded throughout the room, monotone but sure. "It's what I was born to be."

Silence fell, and Jasper no longer tried to quell her emotions. They were too strong, her heartbreak growing almost overwhelming. 

"Perhaps," Carlisle agreed, the regret evident in his low voice. "But you're a vampire now." He looked down, giving her a sense of privacy as she grieved. "I'm sorry."

"Parvati," Edward murmured. She was out the door in an instant.


	3. Chapter 3

     Esme watched the scene unfold before her with a sinking heart. Parvati's reaction was to be expected. Most immortals had a difficult time transitioning from their old life. Their entire world had changed in a span of a couple of days. They awake with a new body, with new needs. They were expected to give up so much.

     "Edward," Esme murmured encouragingly, eyes wide and pleading as she nodded towards the door. Go after her. 

     A sense of obligation weighed on his shoulders, almost keeping him chained in place. He knew what everybody expected of him and Parvati. For awhile, he had been expecting this day to come. Only, he didn't expect to be so captivated with his supposed partner. He didn't expect to be so thankful to Carlisle. He didn't expect to be so nervous, so willing to impress. 

     Edward swallowed thickly, a habit he had from when he was human. "Alright," he whispered to his waiting family. "Alright."

     He followed Parvati out of the door, followed her scent deep into the woods. Trees had fallen, a product of a newborn's anger. They were pummeled into the ground, their limbs twisted grotesquely up in the air. That's where he saw her, sitting amongst the mess she made of her own little part of the forest. She wasn't tired; she would never be tired again. Only, she wished for silence, a moment of peace after her rage had waned.

When Edward cautiously approached, a growl of warning bubbled up from her throat. It had surprised her. Never before had she emitted such a sound and so instinctively. She truly was something more than human, something primal. 

"Careful!" She snapped bitterly, wrapping her arms around herself. There was no need for such a guarded position. She could take the older vampire out quickly. But she wouldn't. It's not what she wanted to do at all. She wanted him to sit next to her like he had before, to take her hand in his and promise that she wouldn't be so miserable in her new life. Some things, however, were impossible.

"You can't touch me, remember?" She continued, hearing every hesitant step he made towards her. "No one can ever touch me again."

The images she conjured up seemed to burn into her mind, as real as if they had already happened. Years, decades spent stuck in her body, betrayed by her own skin. It was if she had been diagnosed with some incurable disease, her body attacking itself itself constantly, attacking anyone who dared lay an affectionate finger on her. They would he ambushed with forced feelings of love and obsession. She was doomed to be lonely, without the ability to find comfort in the warmth of skin on skin contact. She had been blessed with inhuman strength and speed, but also cursed with the imprisonment her body presented. 

"It won't be like that," Edward promised her, twigs continuing to gently snap under the weight of his approaching steps. "This isn't your prison." Slowly, hands splayed and facing the ground, he knelt down beside her.

"Stay out of my head!" She snarled, turning away from him as if she could somehow guard her thoughts easier that way. Her fists dug into the dirt, trying to ground herself. Any other vampire would be nervous to be in such a precarious position, but Edward never wavered.

"Parvati-"

"Don't." She cut him off before he could explain himself, before he could try to make things better. "You call me Parvati like you know me. You don't. None of you do."

     There was a hollow part inside her, a feeling that only tears could make go away. Such intense emotions were at war within her, with no way to be filtered out. The trees had felt the brute of her strength, but the balm only lasted for so long. Now, she willed for the release, for any tears to fall, any sobs to heave. None came.

"Vampires can't cry." It was something Edward himself had quickly learned after he turned in 1918.

"I told you-"

"I know," he sighed, cutting her off before she could admonish him once again. "I'm sorry. You're very... loud."

For awhile, they just sat in silence, before Parvati grew the courage to finally ask what she hadn't before dared. "We really don't die?" It was still a hard concept for her to come to terms with. As a human, she felt invincible. As if she really would stay young forever, her whole life and opportunities laid out before her. And then so quickly, she was a snuffed out flame. But now, she truly would be young forever. How does one even feel about such a thing? Creatures like them, like she was now, simply didn't exist. 

     Except now they did.

"We don't age," Edward carefully corrected. "We can't change in any way. Though we can be killed. It takes a lot but it's possible."

     "The sun is safe enough." She tilted her hand on the ground, pushing it towards a ray of light peaking through the sparse leaves above. The light shimmered off her skin, captivating her as she rolled her palm side to side. "I suppose it's better than turning to ash."

     "Carlisle says it has something to do with our cellular membranes. They become... almost crystallized." 

     "Carlisle." She said the name bitterly, as if it brought displeasure just rolling the syllables off her tongue. "So, he continues his career while telling me I have to give up mine?" It upset her, the way she talked about a man who had shown such kindness to her. A part of her understood that he had saved her life. But the dominate part of her mind could only think about what she had lost. Everything she was, gone in a night. 

     "Uh, he's a surgeon," he told her with a small smile. "Most of the people he works closely with are unconscious."

     "I bet there's lots of blood," she argued.

     "He's also very old. His restraint is incredible." The awe in his voice was impossible to miss. He clearly looked up to Carlisle Cullen, to his ability to resist temptation and his will to help instead of destroy. 

     "I don't have to do as he says," Parvati said stubbornly, picking at the roots in the dirt. "I could leave."

     "You could," he said slowly, worried. "But you're young. Do you really want to be on your own so soon?" A selfish part of him wanted to keep her there, for his sake. Only so he may see her everyday, so he may get to know her as he desires, so she may get to know him. He wanted to watch her thrive and find happiness with her foster family. 

But he also knew the consequences of going rogue. He worried about her as a newborn, being thrust into a world without any guidance. Anger fueled her now, but fear would be it's replacement. If given into fear, given into the need to feed on the most addictive blood, she would find herself living a life that would repulse her old self. They may be different creatures, but Edward believed they kept the truest parts of themselves, even in death. To lose that would be to lose all sense of the world.

He thought Parvati knew that too when she dipped her head and sighed in defeat. "No."

     "This is all new to you. It does get better, Parvati." His voice was full of so much promise, she desperately wanted to believe him. 

"What am I supposed to do for an eternity?" Her voice had naturally dropped to a register that humans wouldn't be able to here. She spoke only for herself, only for Edward. "Forever trapped in this shell. Alone."

"You don't have to be alone." Slowly, he placed his hand on the ground next to hers, fingers just a centimeter apart from each other. Even still, the distance was overwhelming, the closest they could ever be to each other.

"Yes," she whispered, withdrawing her own hand. "I do."


End file.
